Coin-controlled apparatus



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. P. W. SOHULTZE. 00m CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

No. 514,664. Patented Feb. 13, 1894.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. F. W. SGHULTZE. 00m CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

No. 514,664. Patented Feb. 13, 1894.

- UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

GUSTAV F. V. SOHULTZE, OF BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

COIN-CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

ECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,664, dated February13, 1894.

Application filed November 14:. 1893. Serial No. 490,925. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GUSTAV F. W. ScHULTzE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Berkeley, county of Alameda, State of California,have invented an Improvement in Coin- Controlled Apparatus; and I herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame.

My invention relates to that class of coincontrolled apparatusillustrated by my previous Patent No. 502,891, issued to me August 8,1893, for a coin-controlled apparatus; and my invention consists incertain improvements in that machine which I shall hereinafter fullydescribe and specifically claim, said improvements having for theirobjects a better control of the coin discharge, greater accuracy indefeating attempts to tamper with the machine, and finally the provisionof means for delivering a prize, or a token equivalent thereof, undercomparatively rare conditions, said prize or token being in addition tothe coin delivery, upon reaching an ordinarily successful result.

In my previous machine, and in. this, the main object is to return thecoin deposited in the machine or an equivalent thereof, in case apredetermined result be not arrived at,otherwise to retain said coin.This result may be of any suitable character, as, for example, thetelling of afortune, which may be effected by means of a prepared listof statements corresponding to the various posit-ions of the indicatingdisk.

In describing my present improvements, it will be necessary to describewith some particularity the parts of the previous machine which areretained in the present one, and for a better understanding, if such benecessary, reference is hereby especially made to my previous patent.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanationof my invention,Figure l is a perspective exterior view of my apparatus..Fig. 2 is an elevation of the mechanism lying just behind the faceplate of frame A. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the mechanism on the back.Fig/l is ahorizontal section of wheel 0, its connections being in plan.Fig. 5 is an end view of the barrel K and connections.

A is a frame upon the' face of which is a rotatable disk B of suitabledesign. This disk is secured to the face of a wheel 0 which is adaptedin the present case, as in the former one, to control the discharge ofthe coin. My first improvement lies in the construction of this wheel,and of its connections, which constructions need not at this point hespecifically set forth, it being suflicient, at prescut, to say thataccording to the position in which the rotatable wheel 0 comes to astate of rest, the coin will be retained, or it will be discharged or inaddition to the coin discharged, a prize or token will also bedelivered. The wheel 0 is upon a shaft D which carries upon its innerend a plated having a spring-controlled pawl d. Upon the shaft is also aloose sleeve E which has a ratchet e engaging the pawl 61' in onedirection and slipping it in the other. Secured to and wound upon thissleeve is a cord F, the lower end of which extends downwardly and issecured to a spring f below, which spring represents any suitableinitial power. The upperend of the cord is secured to a lever G which ispivoted at g, and the other end of said lever is connected by a chain orcord g with the extremity of an arm hot a pivoted lever H. The upper endof this lever H has ratchet teeth It with which a spring-controlled pawl71 engages.

I is a chute for the initial reception of the coin. This chute at itslower end is provided with light spring arms 2' which serve to holdtemporarily the deposited coin and this end of the chute with itstemporarily held coin is exposed to view through a suitable aperture 1"in the face of the machine. Herein lies an improvement in my presentmachine, in that by exposing the coin chute, and providing means fortemporarily holding the coin therein, it may be exhibited,and itsspurious character determined, if such be the case. The next coindeposited will drive the previous coin from between the spring arms, andsaid previous coin will pass on down into a passage l, the lower end ofwhich terminates in a barrel or cylinder J having an openingj in itsbottom, said opening being directly above a runway in, the lower end ofwhich communicates with the vertically disposed barrel K which issupported above and separated from a small platform by the thickness ofone or more coins, said platform communicating with the discharge chuteL which opens to the exterior of the machine. The upper end of thebarrel K is open to and communicates with a directing chute is into theinterior of the machine. In the barrel J is mounted and adapted to slidea hollow rod M, theinner end of which is open, and the outer end isconnected at m with the lever H.

N is the operating lever projecting to the outside. It is pivoted at 'nand its inner extremity n has a pin n which bears downwardly upon thepawl h which controls the lever H. A spring n holds the outer end of thelever N up with its inner extremity normally bearing upon and holdingthe pawl it out of its engagement with the ratchet lever This lever Nhas a downwardly extending crank arm 0, the lower end of which isconnected with the plunger which moves into and out of the hollow rod Mwithin the barrel J. Y

The parts thus far described, with the exception heretofore noted of theexposure and exhibition of the temporarily held coin in the receivingchute I, and with the further exception of the arrangement of thevertically disposed coin-holding barrel K to which, and the partsoperating in connection therewith, I shall again refer, aresubstantially similar to the corresponding parts of the machine of myprevious patent, and their operation may be briefly described asfollowsz-A coin being dropped into the receiving chute I displaces apreviously deposited coin held within the spring arms 1' and saiddisplaced coin finds its way down into the barrel J wherein it serves asan obstacle between the end of the plunger 0 and the open end of the rodM within the barrel. Now, upon pulling down the lever N, the partswithin the barrel are operated through the intervention of the coin, andthe upper end of the lever H is forced over, and the pawl 72. beingrelieved of the inner end of the lever N successively engages theratchet teeth of the lever H and acts as a retainer therefor. As thelever H moves over its arm h is carried downwardly, and through itsconnection with the lever G, the latter is operated whereby, through thecord F, the sleeve E is turned, the ratchet and pawl connectionslipping, and thereby the cord is wound up on the sleeve E, and saidcord pulls the spring f upwardly under tension. When the lever N isreleased and returns to its normal position, the plunger 0 is withdrawnwherebythe coin drops down into the runway is, and thence into thebarrel K where it rests upon the underlying platform .10 At the sametime the inner end of the lever N releases the pawl b from the lever H,and thereupon the spring f, acting through the cord F, turns the sleeveE,

, and the ratchet and pawl now engaging turn levers H back, which thusreturns the rod M to its initial position within the barrel, ready forthe reception of a succeeding coin.

The retention of coins within the machine, and theirdischarge from themachine, were determined in my previous machine by theextent of themovement of a swinging lever Q, which movement was itself determined bymeans of depressions of difierent depths in the periphery of the wheel0, into which the upper extremity of the lever Q was adapted to enter,when the wheel came to a state of rest. In my present machine I retainthe lever Q withits upper extremity q, but I construct the wheel 0 asfollows: It is a wheel provided around the entire extent of itsperiphery with sockets 0. Some of these sockets are entirelyunobstructed and free, while others have within them spring-controlledsliding pins or contacts c',the heads of which lie in the path ofmovement of the extremity q of lever Q. Any of these pins or contacts,when struck by the extremity of lever Q, is adapted to come in contactwith a slide rod 0 the other end of which is connected with theupper endof a pivoted lever 0 The lower end of .this lever is connected with theend of a swinging driver lever 0 controlled by a spring 0 and having itsother extremity curved and adapted to enter under the barrel K, and bymoving over the platform come in contact with the lowermost coin orcoins of the column in said barrel K,

whereby the said lowermost coin or coins, as the case may be, are drivenfrom the coin column in barrel K, and are discharged through the chute Lto the outside of the machine. i

The lever Q is operated and controlled by means substantially similar tothose in my previous patent, and which areas follows: It has a spring qfwhich holds it to its engagement with the wheel 0. R is a pivoted leverhaving its lower end in the path of a pin 1- projecting from the leverH. The lower end of the lever R is connected loosely by a link 7' withthe lever Q below its pivotal point. The lever Q has an inwardlyprojecting pin g which engages the teeth of a spring-controlled pivotedratchet bar g having at its outer end a contact pin q. Now, when thelever H is thrown forwardly, as heretofore described, the pin 0" at itslower end moves the lower end of leverRin the opposite direction, whichmovement of the le ver R through its link 1*, will withdraw theextremity q of lever Q from its engagement with wheel 0, and in thisbackward movement of lever Q, its pin g engages the ratchet bar 1 andsaid lever is thus held back out of its engagement, and the wheel 0 withits disk B has full opportunity to spin and to come to a state of rest.

To relieve the lever Q, I have the mechanism substantially as in myprevious machine, to wit, a spring-actuated clock mechanism S controlledby a pendulum s and proper escapement. The winding or driving shaft ofthis clock-work has a crank arm 3 which is connected by a link 7* withthe upper end of the lever B. Now, as the lever B moves, as heretoforedescribed, it winds up the clock mechanism through the crank arm .9 andwhen the lever B is released by the lever H, the crank arm in returningunder the power of its clock mechanism, will return the lever B, and atthe end of its stroke, and after the wheel 0 has come to a position ofrest, said crank arm coming in contact with the pin g" of the ratchetbar g will force said bar down, thereby relieving the pin (1 of thelever Q, which latter, under the influence of its spring will return tothe wheel (Land its extremity will enter one of the sockets in theperiphery of said wheel. If it should enter a socket in which there isno sliding pin or contact, nothing will result and the coin will beretained in the machine, but if it enters a socket in which there is asliding pin or contact c it will, by driving said pin or contact, actthrough the mechanism described to discharge one or more coins from thebarrel K,

as heretofore described. Therefore, according to the position in whichthe wheel 0 receives the lever Q, the coin will be retained ordischarged.

The coins in the barrel K may be regarded as a working fund, for saidbarrel must first be filled and remain so before succeeding coins willpass permanently into the interior of the apparatus. When the barrel Kis full, then upon the next operation of the machine, the on-coming coinwill simply slip over the full barrel into the interior delivery, andwill fall into the machine. This begins the permanent profit; but if thedisk stops successively in position to deliver a coin exteriorly thecolumn of coins in the barrel K will gradually lower, and this columnmust be raised again, by successive spinnings, reaching a result andretaining coins, before profits will again begin.

Now, in order to make the machine more attractive, I have provided forthe delivery upon certain rare conditions of a prize or a token which isthe equivalent of a prize. This I accomplish in the following manner:\Vithin the machine is a reservoir in the shape of a runway T which isaccessible only to the owner of the machine, and this runway is to befilled with a supply or store of prizes or tokens for prizes such as Ihave here represented by t. The lower end of this runway is incommunication with a guide passage U, the lower end of whichcommunicates with the discharge chute L to the exterior of the machine.Across the lower end of the runway T is the extremity o of a pivotedelbow lever V, said extremity being normally held across and closing thedischarge end of the runway T, by means of a spring Q). To the other armof this elbow lever V is connected a slide rod 12 the inner end of whichlies in the path of movement of the inner end of but one of the pins orcontacts of the wheel 0, said one pin or contact being herein speciallydesignated by 0 Now, if the wheelO should come to a state of rest in aposition to have this one pin or contact 0 struck by the lever Q, saidpin or contact will, through the slide rod c operate the lever V, andwill withdraw the stop extremity b of said lever from the end of therunway T, whereupon a prize or token t will be allowed to pass into thepassage way U and be delivered to the outside of the machine. To givenotice of the delivery of a prize, I have a gong Y, adapted to be struckby a hammer y operated by the contact of a lug c on the slide rod 12 Inorder to restrain the succeeding prizes or tokens from following the onedischarged, I have a pivoted retaining lever WV, the extremity w ofwhich is adapted to enter the path of the prizes or tokens immediatelyin front of the one succeeding the one to be discharged. This lever \Vis controlled by a spring to and it is operated, to remove its extremityfrom the runway, in order to allow a fresh prize to descend to theextremity thereof, by means of a cord 20 connected with the pin 1C3extending from said lever, said cord being also connected with the arm hof the lever I-I. Now when said lever is moved, as heretofore described,it will, through the connections described, operate the retaining leverIV to effect the desired result.

Attempts may be made to tamper with the machine by pressing down thelever N gently and sufficiently to withdraw the lever Q from itsengagement with the wheel 0 but very slightly, and then by a quickrelease of the lever or jarring of the machine, to effect the return ofthe lever Q into a succeeding socket containing an operating contact orpin. To

prevent this I provide for locking the clock mechanism S so that it willnot operate to relieve the lever Q, of the ratchet bar g unless the fulloperation of the lever N be effected and the dial and wheel be allowedto spin fully and come to a state of rest. To do this I have extendingfrom the escapement shaft of the clock mechanism an arm 8 over whichprojects a pin won the end of a pivoted springcontrolled lever X whichis connected by a flexible cord 00 with the spring f which is the mainpower of the machine. The position of the pin 50, when spring f is drawnup, is directly over the arm 3 so that the escapement shaft or vergecannot operate and the clock mechanism is, therefore, held inactive, butwhen the spring fis allowed to return to its normal position upon a fulloperation, it will pull down the connected end of the lever X and willthereby raise the pin at and allow the operation of the clock mechanism;but while the clock mechanism does not operate, the lever Q, will beheld by the ratchet bar and the machine will not operate.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a coin controlled apparatus, ameans for elfecting the exterior delivery of a deposited coin,consisting of a rotatable wheel having a movable contactor pin in itsperiphery, a lever adapted to strike or avoid said contact according tothe position of the wheel, and mechanism operated by the movement of thecontact or pin for releasing and delivering the coins.

2. In a coin-controlled apparatus, a means for retaining or returning adeposited coin, consisting of a rotatable wheel having a series ofseparated movable contacts or pins, a lever adapted to avoid or tostrike said contacts or pins according to the position of the wheel, andmechanism operated by the movement of the contacts or pins when struckby the lever to return the coin and to remain at rest to retain thecoin, when the contacts or pinsare avoided by the lever,substantially asherein described.

3. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of a rotatable diskhaving around its periphery a series of sockets, movable contacts orpins seated in some of said sockets, a lever adapted to enter saidsockets, according to the position of the wheel whereby a contact or pinis avoided or struck, and mechanism operated by the movement of acontact or pin when struck by the lever to deliver a coin from themachine, and to remain at rest to retain the coin, when a contact or pinis avoided by the lever, substantially as herein described.

4. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of a rotatable diskhaving around its periphery a series of sockets, movable contacts orpins seated in some of said sockets, a lever adapted to en ter saidsockets, according to the position of the wheel whereby a contact or pinis avoided or struck, and mechanism operated by the movement of acontact or pin when struck by the lever to deliver a coin from themachine, and to remain at rest to retain the coin, when a contact or pinis avoided by the lever, said mechanism consisting of a slide rodoperated by the contact or pin and a driver lever operated by the sliderod, and adapted to come in contact with the coin and to throw it out,substantially as herein described.

5. In a coin-con trolled apparatus the combination of a rotatable diskhaving around its periphery a series of sockets, movable contacts orpins seated in some of said sockets, a lever adapted to enter saidsockets, according to the position of the wheel whereby a contact or pinis avoided or struck, and mechanism operated by the movement of acontact or pin when struck by the lever to deliver a coin from themachine, and to remain at rest to retain the coin, when a contact or pinis avoided by the lever, said mechanism consisting of a slide rodoperated by the contact or pin, the driver lever operated by thesliderod, the coin containing barrel and underlying platform between whichthe end of the driver lever plays to throw out the lowermost coin in thebarrel and a discharge way from said barrel, substantially as hereindescribed.

6. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of a rotatable wheelhavinga series of sockets around its periphery and movable pins orcontacts seated in some of said sockets, a power device, a connectionbetween said power device and the wheel whereby the latter is rotated,connections controlled by the insertion of a coin for setting andtripping the power device, a lever adapted to enter the sockets of thewheel, and according to the position of said wheel to operate itsmovable pins or contacts or to avoid them as the case may be, andmechanism operated by the movementof said pins or contacts when struckby lever to deliver a coin, and to remain at rest to retain the coinwhen the contacts or pins are avoided by the lever, substantially asherein described.

7. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of a rotatable wheelhaving a series of sockets around its periphery and movable pins orcontacts seated in some of said sockets, a power device, a connectionbetween said device and the wheel whereby the latter is rotated,connections, controlled by the insertion of a coin, for setting andtripping the power device, a lever adapted to enter the sockets of thewheel, and according to the position of said wheel to operate itsmovable pins or contacts or to avoid them as the case may be, mechanismoperated by the movement of said pins or contacts when struck by thelever to deliver a coin, and to remain at rest to retain the coin whenthe contacts or pins are avoided by the lever, said mechanism consistingof the slide rod and the swinging driver lever operated thereby,substantially as herein'described.

8. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of a rotatable wheeland mechanism controlled by the position of said wheel for retaining ordelivering a deposited coin, of the vertically disposed barrellocated inthe course of the coin runways into and from the machine, said barrelhavinga discharge opening at its bottom, and a swinging driver leveradapted to enter said opening and to remove from the coin column thelowermost coin, substantially as herein described.

9. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of arotatable wheeland mechanism controlled by the position of said wheel for retaining ordelivering a deposited coin, of the vertically disposed barrel locatedin the course of the coin runways into and from the machine, said barrelhavinga discharge opening at its bottom, a swinging driver lever adaptedto enter said opening and to remove from the coin column the lowermostcoin, and a directing chute into the interior of the machinecommunicating with the top of the barrel, substantially as hereindescribed.

10. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of a rotatablewheel, having means for actuating mechanism to deliver a coin, a leverfor operating said means or allowing them to remain at rest, accordingto the position of the wheel, a supplementary store of prizes or tokenswithin the machine, and mechanism operated and controlled by said leverand wheel to retain or to deliver a prize or token, substantially asherein described.

11. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of the rotatablewheel, mechanism controlled by the position of the wheel for retainingor delivering a deposited coin, and a lever for actuating said mechanismor avoiding it, a supplementary runway containing a store of prizes ortokens, mechanism for controlling their discharge, and a movable contactpin carried by the wheel, and adapted to be avoided or operated by thelever to actuate said controlling mechanism whereby a prize or token isretained ,or delivered, substantially as herein described.

12. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of the rotatablewheel having the series of sockets, the sliding pins or contacts mountedin some of said sockets and the special pin or contact 0 in one of saidsockets, the lever for entering the sockets of the wheel and avoiding oroperating the pins or contacts, as the case may be, according to theposition of the wheel, a supplementary runway for containing astore ofprizes or tokens, mechanism operated by the special contact or pin forcontrolling the discharge of said prizes or tokens to the exterior ofthe machine, and mechanism operated by the other contacts or pins forcontrolling the discharge of a coin from the machine, substantially asherein described.

13. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of the rotatablewheel with its sliding contact or pin 0, the lever for avoiding oractuating said pin according to the position of the wheel, the runwaywithin the machine containing a store of prizes or tokens, the pivotedelbow lever with its stop controlling the discharge of said prizesortokens, and the slide rod connected with said lever and lying in thepath of movement of the contact or pin a, substantially as hereindescribed.

14. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of the rotatablewheel with its sliding contact or pin 0 the lever for avoiding oractuating said pin according to the position of the wheel, the runwaywithin the machine containing a store of prizes or tokens, the pivotedelbow lever with its stop controlling the discharge of said prizes ortokens, the slide rod connected with said lever and lying in the path ofmovement of the contact or pin 0, and the gong and the pivoted hammeractuated by the slide rod, substantially as herein described.

15. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the combination of the rotatablewheel with its sliding contact or pin 0, the lever for avoiding oractuating said pin according to the position of the wheel, the runwaywithin the ma chine containing a store of prizes or tokens, the pivotedelbow lever with its stop controlling the discharge of said prizes ortokens, the slide rod connected with said lever and lying in the path ofmovement of the contact or pin 0, and the retaining lever in the path ofmovement of the prizes or tokens, substantially as herein described.

16. In a coin-controlled apparatus, the rotatable wheel with means forcontrolling the discharge of the coin and the lever Q for operating saidmeans, the clock mechanism and' ratchet bar for controlling the lever,and the lever X having means for locking the clock mechanism, said leverhaving connections with the operating parts of the machine where by itrelieves the clock mechanism only upon full operation of the machine,substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

GUSTAV F. IV. SOHULTZE.

Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, H. F. ASOHEOK.

